the doctor says by the time most patients have sven trick you cuellar pumps implanted, their condition has deteriorated significantly. >> some people are not eligible for transplantation for one reason or another, in which case this device can be put in as what's called a destination therapy, which is the device is a destination by itself. >> reporter: in the past when mr. cheney was admitted to the hospital, the media was often alerted within minutes. in this case the procedure and his stay here was kept under wraps for nearly a week. jackie bensen, "news 4 today." let's find out with a kind of a day we're going to have. chuck is joining us. and more heat and humidity, right? >> now that the rains that we've needed and appreciated are gone, that means old man summer is coming back. >> yesterday, yikes. >> i was a little surprised

buyer the fact that it turned an ugly shade of hot yesterday afternoon. we actually made it all the way to 90 degrees at national airport. i knew we'd make it back up into the mid to high 80s. 77 degrees our downtown temperature first thing this morning. 71 into prince georges county, 74 annapolis, 73 in fairfax, 72 in arlington this morning. 73 in rockville and 70 in frederick maryland. here's a look at the satellite radar combination. that area of low pressure now spinning its way off the jersey shore and moving up toward cape cod, massachusetts as it moves away from us. we get a north to northwesterly breeze back in here, that will turn things toasty warm again. mostly sunny today, we do have shall patchy fog around the area first thing this morning. highs back up into the low to mid-90s and another super nice but ever so hot day coming up for tomorrow so the rest of the workweek today and tomorrow, hot, and tomorrow humid, as well. as we get into the weekend,

chance of passing showers and thunderstorm, but it's not going to be a washout of a weekend, so your outdoor plans for the most part will go off uninterrupted. good morning, everyone. a lot of overnight road work. on the capital beltway in virginia, in particular. 66 blocked, but most of that has been wrapped up, so good news there. trip around town, montgomery county, most of the major roadways looking pretty good. had some overnight road work on a couple spots 270 northbound and southbound and virginia receiving word of an accident westbound on the dulles greenway at belt month ridge. authorities are on the scene dealing with that. speaking of road work, new today, deadly construction accident in prince georges county. a worker was kill overnight after getting caught between two dump trucks. the accident happened on the northbound side of pennsylvania avenue near the beltway.

police say a man was standing on the side step of the dump truck and reached inside to get something. another truck then backed into his truck and he was crushed by a door. police have not released his identity, but they say he worked for a paving subcontractor. this morning police are searching for suspects after a young man was gunned down outside a wreck center in northeast washington. that shooting happened on a playground outside the watts branch recreation center. that is the same rec center where a former congressional intern was murdered less than two weeks ago. witnesses say there was a large crowd gathered outside last night when they heard at least ten shots fired. in the panic people started running and scattering into the streets. police say that in the end one young man was shot in the head and died. his names has not been released. as you mentioned, this is the second deadly shooting at that same roeks in less than two weeks. joshua hopkins was gunned down back on july 3rd.

the 19-year-old was home for the summer after finishing his freshman year are college. he was spending his time as a congressional intern. police made an arrest in hopkins death earlier this week in that. the man charged with killing chandra levy is back in his jail cell after being temporarily released yesterday. he was taken out of jail under a detective's supervision so he can provide a handwriting sample. prosecutors believe he wrote threatening letters to witnesses. in december he pleadeded not guilt to additional charges that he threatened a witness in the case. chandra levy went missing back in 2001 and her body was found one year later in rock creek park. this morning an all-out manhunt is under way for a metro access driver accused of sexuallies assaults a special needs passenger. metro transit police are looking for this man, facing a second degree rape charge. police say he assaulted a passenger on a trip from silver spring to gaithersburg last

thursday. >> it looks like a crime of opportunity certainly we're dealing with a perpetrator who is considered a predator you can programs saw an opportunity took advantage of an opportunity person. >> authorities say he's the third metro access driver this year charged with taking advantage of a disabled rider. he works for a subcontractor, regency cab incorporated nap company says it it is cooperating fully with investigators. you you might want to wear your workout shoes the next time you hop on the metro in dupont circle. metro says some broken escalators will not work again until the end of the month. a smoke alarm caused the escalators to go out of service monday. that has forced customers to walk up and down 120 steps. right now the 19th street and q street exits both have one

escalator working in the up direction. metro hopes to have the q street side fixed by the end of the week. well, five people have been arrested in connection with a prostitution ring. investigators say it was happening inside a home on old washington road in waldorf, maryland in charles county. news 4's elaine reyes has details of the arrest. >> reporter: off the road and down a long driveway to 3810 old washington road. charles county sheriffs investigators have stopped short of calling the home a brothel. >> sex was being sold and we used some undercover people to go in and precipitate enough of an investigation and information in order to obtain it a search warrant. >> reporter: after a month's long investigation, the undercover officers entered the home, heard the rules of the house and had their choice of girls. detectiveses also gathered information from a website advertising the services of one of the girls who happened to be just 17 years old. sheriff's investigators arrested the homeowner, 45-year-old patty

tippet, and her tenant, travis morrison. both both were charged with operating a prostitution ring. >> center for missing exploited children had observed one of the kids that they were looking for on this website and connected to charles county, so then they contacted us and together we put this investigation together. >> reporter: neighbors say they had noed with what went on. two driveways over from the home is cross-country baptist church. >> they're more than welcome to come by and visit us for that matter. you know, we reach out to them in any way we can. we weren't even aware anything was going on back there. just another neighbor as far as i knew. >> this neighborhood, you wouldn't expect to find something like that, but it's everywhere. >> that was elaine reyes reported. tippet denied knowing prostitution was taking place in her home, but investigators say they found records that

apparently show otherwise. both she and morrison are released on $10,000 bond. now to the latest on the gulf oil disaster. the new cap put on this this week is leaking on the bloenout well. bp says it has been isolated and repairs are underway. here's a live look. there is no way on how that may delay the of closing valves. there was fear pressure could build up and rupture the well and make the leak even worse. >> we have apenormous amount of pressure coming to a halt immediately, very much like a train running in to a brick wall. and that would send a shockwave down the wellbore, which could cause problems. >> engineers will be watching pressure readings every six hours to make sure the well does not break. if there are no problems after friday night, teams will do another set of seismic tests before deciding on the next step. 4:38 is your time. 78 degrees.

ahead, these may look like real $100 bill, but something about them is a dead giveaway oig that they're nothing more than funny money. >> and the fda may say weigh in on whether there's a pill out there that can really help you shed the pounds. >> and chuck will be back

a good thursday morning. your time is now 4:41. off to a very nice start this

morning. skies are clear. a little bit of patchy fog for you. that fog won't last long after the sun costs up. the sun coming up about an hour and 14 minutes from now. boy, is it early. . 77 degrees in washington. 76 in capital heights this morning. 71 degrees in brandy wine, matter la maryland. p it is going to be a sizzler outside today. temperatures will soar back up into the mid ninth arou-90s aro. a little humidity break today, but it will be back tomorrow. the trip in new york avenue pretty quiet so far this morning as you make the trip from northeast into northwest with the travel lanes open. elsewhere this morning, massachusetts avenue initial reports of another tree down in the roadway. we're told crews are on the scene dealing with that. wilson bridge, we're okay so far

this morning. a controversial debate over the toyota recall. who is really to blame for the acceleration problem? the automaker or the drivers themselves? and how much would you pay for this baseball card? the latest bid for this rare card.

survivors gathered on capitol hill to plead their case. right now 37 states allow people to purchase guns at gun shows without a background check. the extra have a tech families now want a new federal law to change that. they say a stricter gun law would make it more difficult for, quote, dangerous people to obtain weapons. gun rights advocates argue that the extra have a tech gunman got his gun legally, not at a gun show. schools and state workers

will be getting extra cash in virginia. the commonwealth ended the fiscal year with a $220 million budget surplus. that's 80 million more than expected. 86 million of that surplus will fund bonuses for state workers. many of them have not received a raise in three years. $18 million will go to public education. governor book mcdonnell says he does not plan to losing the purse strings. >> it is not a sign that we're out of woods when it comes to the downturn in the economy. we have to be vigilant with the way we spend. >> this some of that money will also pay for transportation projects. and today virginia's governor will be talking jobs. he'll give us an update on his job creation effort six months after taking office. the news conference is scheduled for 9:30 this morning in richmond. also a presidential pep talk. president obama will urge americans to try to hang despite the tough economy. he'll face a tough audience in michigan will unemployment is

almost 14%. only nevada is worse. news 4's tracie potts has more on what the president is expected to say today. >> reporter: today president obama speaks at a new plant that h will make batteries for electric cars. his message? >> these are batteries that are made in america, built by americans. >> reporter: even democrats say the recovery is too slow. >> it certainly is not not as fast as we want. >> the economic initiatives we took, they are working. they are working. >> the proof that the stimulus has not worked, where are the jobs? >> reporter: state and local government could cut another 400,000 jobs in the next year saying they trimmed all the fat they can. >> you can't keep cutting programs you actually have to lay employees off. >> reporter: democrats say enough with all the negativity. >> at some point, we have to

join in and root for the home team. >> i wish the white house sometimes would root for the home time. >> reporter: congress remains dead looked, but business leaders want president obama to focus on helping employer so is they can create jobs. >> we'll have a jobless recovery. >> reporter: to create jobs, president obama is reaching out for help. president clinton was also at that white house meeting. tracie potts, nbc news. more than a million homeowners are on track to lose their homes by foreclosure by the end of this year. realtytrac.com reports 528,000 homeowners lost their homes this year. the number jumped 8% compared to the same period last year. about 1.7 million households received a foreclosure related notice in the first half of this year. >> reporter: the secret service has busted up a large counterfeit cash ring in northern virginia that involves fake $100 bills printed

partially in spanish. prince william county police first discovered several bill last month when they pulled him over on suspicion of drunk driving. that led them to a 30-year-old. they had 60 of the fake $100 bills. ironically a spanish phrase was printed on the bills that translates to lucky money. the bills are connected to more than 100 counterfeit cases. the government has not figured out whether drivers might be to blame for the sudden acceleration in toyota vehicles. it's a problem that has led to millions of recalled cars and trucks since last year. the national highway traffic administration says its engineers are still trying to figure out the problem, but according to the "wall street journal," the government has analyzed so-called sdep black boxes and they found that the throttles were open and the brakes were not engaged. that could mean the drivers were stepping on the gas pedal

instead of the brakes. well, general motors is charging ahead with a new sales pitch for its electric car. gm is adding a warranty that guarantees the battery in the chef row lay volt.warranty would last for eight years or 100,000 miles. that's a step up from the five year warranties on gm's other vehicles. the first waiver of rejornlgable rolts h hit the showroomses in november. despite safety concerns, avandia will stay on the market. a passenger of experts commissioned by the fda made that recommendation yesterday. although it was not unanimous, avandia used to be one of the most popular diabetes drugs on the market, but a 2007 study linking the drug to increased risk of heart attack and death caused sales to plu s ts to plu. now to weapons in the battle of the bulge. >> these new weight loss drugs could soon be approved. they could help more than 200 million americans considered overweight or obese.

erica edwards reports. >> reporter: there's no magic pill that will melt away fat, not overnight anyway. hard work is involved. exercise, eating right, more exercise, more eating right. but when you hit that weight loss plateau, drug companies are lined up to step in. the food and drug administration is scheduled to review three new obesity drug by the end of this year. >> i believe we're on the verge of a new era in weight management. >> reporter: first on the list, a discussion at the fda on thursday is a pill called qnexa. it's a combination of two appetite suppressants including one called phentermine. it's considered safe but was part of the notorious phen-fen taken off the market years ago after it was linked to heart valve problems. >> it is critically important to everybody to make sure that these head sins are safe. >> reporter: another experimental drug has very few

side effects in clinical trials where patients lost an average of 17 pounds over a year. so irkt pass were slimmer and researchers say healthier. >> things like blood pressure, blood sugar, inflammation, all of these markers improve in the studies. >> reporter: and in december, fd am advisers are scheduled to review another wait lost drug. while they might all work, none of the new ones will be effective without the old advice, eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise. erica edwards, nbc news. >> the cornerstone of healthy living, eat right and exercise. >> a shock, isn't it? >> something tells knee sal slad better than cookies and cheeseburgers. >> well, describe better. >> it will fill you up at least for a short time. good weather to be outside coming up for later on this afternoon. but you have to really like a

little bit of sizzle. i know there's some people out there that like sizzle in their lives. yesterday we made it back into the 90s officially at national airport. 90 degrees yesterday. we'll be back up into the mid-90s in a lot of spots before today is through. outside on a thursday morning, there's the washington monument. standing 555.5 inches call. a beautiful morning today. skies are clear. the rain chances are gone. so that means do you not need to worry about your umbrella today. the showers yesterday lingered up to about 1:00 in the afternoon here in downtown d.c. and then the sunshine was out in no time. 77, that and he your thursday morning temperature here in washington. dew points are still on the high side in the upper 60s to near 70, so there's plenty of humidity around. 73 right now in sterling, 37 in win tes cher, also down in quantitity company i quantico, virginia. we're rain free and we'll be reason rain free for today and

for tomorrow and for much of the upcoming weekend, but not all necessarily. current temperatures is already 81 in chicago. dew points in the mid to high 70s out there, so oppressive heat and humidity out of the mid part of the country. that's what's coming our way for tomorrow and the first half of saturday. eventually this very weak weather front will bring in an isolated chance for showers as we get into saturday and sunday. so today sunny, hot, humid. highs 90 to 59. the industrial strength humidity comes back tomorrow, heat indexes over 100 degrees. if you're driving down to the beach, it will be a good day it at the beach today. tomorrow and saturday, also looking a-okay. just a slight chance for a shower at the beaches on saturday and sunday. but more than enough time to get your turn burn if you want one. temperatures in the 90s through the rest of the week and into the weekend. you won't need to cancel your plans for the weekend because those will just be passing showers. this morning an accident along 270 southbound just below

route 80. we're told that's out of the roadway, so once again traffic free flowing as you head for frederick toward high ats town and continuing on down toward the capital beltway. elsewhere this morning into and out of the district by way of kenilworth avenue, no worries right now. travel lanes are open. our time is 4:55. coming up, this small piece of cardboard is worth some serious cash. the latest bid on this rare stephen strasburg baseball card. not everyone in ohio is upset with lebron james. wait until you

a local nba star will appear in court today. west has a plea hearing in connection with a 2009 arrest. police say the basketball player was carrying two loaded handguns, a loaded shotgun and a knife while he was speeding on a motorcycle on the beltway in prince georges county last september. each weapons count carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. west grew up in prince georges county and played high school basketball at eleanor roosevelt in greenbelt. baseball fans with r. competing for a baseball card. online bidding got under way for this card. the bidding is being hosted by a sports memorabilia auction

house.highest bid is $10,000. it's expected to keep climbing. the card was originally purchased inside a box of baseball cards for $275. that's before the signature. the bidding ends on july 28th. >> good deal. well, ap-ohio woman bought a piece of lebron james memorabilia at a yard sale and ended up with a whole lot more than she bargained for. >> it was this pen dent for just $5. after ward she found it was worth nearly $10,000.pendant, which has about two carats in diamonds is in the shape of a basketball jersey and features the number 23. it rings king on the front and james on the back. no word on what robinson plans to to. she could always wear it. >> she could wear it. and probably going to a whole lot more yard sales. stay with us, news 4 "today" continues right now at 5:00.

good morning to you. >> welcome to "news 4 today" for this thursday, july 15th, 2010. we're taking a live look outside at 5:00 a.m. it is 74 degrees. still humid out there and it looks like the rain has ended and the heat is back. and once the sun came out yesterday, it was really heating us up quickly. >> and did you notice the grass has literally gone from brown to a lot more green in less than a week's time. a little rain around here. joe will have to be out mowing all weekend long. >> fwt the riding mower out there. he's ready to go. if you live near joe, just flag him down, he'll mow your yard, too. awfully nice of i am to offer. 76 in capital heights. 72 in 69 in waldorf, 71 in fredericksburg, 70 new market,

maryland. radar shows the last of the showers now long off to our north and east. just moving off the eastern tip of the jersey coast and out to sea they go. we'll be left with a nice north to northwesterly breeze around the area. we'll mix out a little bit of these dew points this which are in the mid to high 60s, but it will still an toasty warm day today. be ready for plenty of sunshine, plenty of heat, not terribly humid enough, highs 90 to 95. tomorrow's highs 95 to about 97 in a lot of spots. and outside chances for passing showers over the weekend. let's see how the commute is going and so far so good. coming in from the west, interstate 66 eastbound on the greenway, on the toll road, pretty quiet. again, reminder westbound greenway blocked because of an accident. south capital street to tall

moving nicely. now to a developing story. former vice president dick cheney is recovering from major heart surgery this morning. in a statement cheney said he had been experiencing increasing congestive heart failure after consultations with his doctors, he received an innatable pump to improve heart function.surgery took place last week at the heart and vascular institute will chain any is still recovering this morning. we talked with a doctor who did not treat cheney, but is familiar with the heart pump known as a left svventricular assist device. >> the left ventricle is not able to pump the blood, so instead of the blood being pumped to the rest of the body, the blood backs up and it back up to the lung that causes congestion of the lunlg, people get short of breath. the pump replaces the left

ventricle. >> the former vice president has a long history of heart disease. at 69 years old,'s already suffered five heart attacks. the most recent occurred earlier this year. now to the latest on the gulf oil disaster. the new cap put on this week is leaking on the blownout well. b.says it's been isolated and repairs are under way. here's a live look. late last night government scientists gave the green light to begin testing the containment cap, but those were put on hold. kristen dahlgren reports from venice, louisiana. >> reporter: after the government gave bp the green light to begin pressure testing on the leaking well, another delay. upon closing the top stack on the new cap, a leak was defectsed in one of the other choke lines and has to be repaired before starting the critical test. so through the early morning oil still flowed as remote subs worked around the site. ready iing for the test they

hope will tell the condition of the leaking well. >> we want to make sure everything stays inside the wellbore and doesn't get outside the wellbore, that somehow we don't end up with flow going around the pipeline. that's what this test is designed to determine because we don't want that to occur. >> reporter: it involves closing off all the vebts through the new cap to test pressure readings, but if done too quickly, it could make things worse. >> an enormous amount of pressure coming to a halt immediately very much like a train running in to a brick wall. and that would send a shockwave down the wellbore which could cause problems anywhere from the surface of the wellbore to deep in the well. >> reporter: that was the reason for the one day delay and officials insist they are now moving forward very carefully. >> i think in the interest of the american people, safety of the environment and safety of the project moving forward, it was visible to take a 24 hour break, make sure we're getting this absolutely right. >> reporter: making sure it's right is all anybody here wants

as they again watch to see the flow stop and the tests start. so the plan for the test is to monitor those pressures and stop every six hours. officials say if they see any indication of danger or that oil is leaking out from anywhere, they will stop those tests pretty quickly. kristen d chr . a shooting happened around 9:30 last night on a playground outside the watts branch recreation center. that's the same rec center where a former congressional intern was murdered less than two weeks ago. witnesses say there was a large crowd gathered outside last night when they heard at least ten shots fired. in an panic people started running and scattering in the streets. in the end, one young man was found shot in the head and he died. his name has not been released.

joshua hopkins was gunned town at that same playground back onnall 3 ready. he was home for the summer and spending his time as a congressional intern. police made an arrest in hopkins' death earlier this week. police believe a metro access driver may be on the run accused of sexually assaulting a special needs passenger. police are looking for this man, tanveer fayyaz. police say he assaulted a passenger on a trip to gaitheringburg last thursday. he's the third metro access driver this year charged with taking advantage of a disabled rider. he is not directly employed by metro access. he works for a subcontractor, reagainst city cab incorporated. five people were arrested in connection with a prostitution ring. investigators say it was happening inside a home on old washington road and waldorf in charles county. neighbors can't believe this

secluded house was operating as a brothel. police in charles county raided the home on friday. they arrested the homeowner, patty tippett, and her tenant, travis morrison. police say the two had at least three adults and a 17-year-old girl working there as prostitutes. tippett denied snowing prostitution was taking lays in her home, but investigators say otherwise. >> sex was being sold and we used some undercover people to go in and precipitate enough of an investigation and information in order to obtain a search warrant. >> both tippett and morrison have been released after posting bond. a tragedy in prince georges county overnight. a construction worger was killed in a bizarre accident, this happened around 12. chlt 30 this morning on pennsylvania avenue near the beltway. news 4's megan mcdwrath joins us hive with more on what did happen. >> reporter: good morning. the man who was killed worked for the subcontractor, the paving subcontractor involved in

this overnight work zone. it was actually taking place on both sides of pennsylvania avenue right near the beltway and of course overnight work zones can be dangerous places, there's at love activity, you have traffic going through, and of course it's dark in the overnight hours. this is right around 12:30 this morning when this happened. according to state police, the victim was standing on the side step of a dump truck. the door to the cab was open. he was on that side step. for whatever reason, he turned to get something out of the cab of the dump truck just as a second dump truck began to back up beside his truck. now, police say that that dump truck that was backing up actually hit the door to his truck forcing to close on top of him and he was crushed in that incident. now, the work has been picked up here this morning. there's no word on the identity or the age of the man who was killed or whether any charges will be filed in this incident, but, again, one person has died

as a result of this accident on pennsylvania avenue. hard to overstate how dangerous that overnight work is out there for all those road workers. megan, thanks so much. >> it really is. our time is 5:09. 75 degrees. still ahead, you'll have to wait a little longer for all the escalators to be back in service at the dupont circle metro station. how much longer? the answer may surprise you. a staggering statistic about the foreclosure crisis. wait until you hear how many americans may move their homes this year. and is all that rain finally behind us? chuck will be back with a look at the forecast when we return. we'll tell you whether his forecast

the time is now 5:12 on your thursday morning. we're almost to the weekend, everybody. current temperatures up in the beautiful northern virginia, 69 degrees. panhandle of west virginia, charles town reporting 69 degrees. winchester, virginia, 72. it will be a very warm day today. we come have some patchy fog out there first thing this morning thanks to all the rain that we've had and the clear skies now overnight, but we should be able to rebound and burn the fog away and make about 94 in

washington today. 95 tomorrow. humid today, but owe recent safely humid tomorrow. and as we get in the weekend, a chance of passing showers both saturday and sunday, but it's not going to rain all weekend, just scattered chances both days. it's going to be a pretty quiet weekend, i think. let head over and see how we're doing as far as this morning's commute on this thursday. i-95 just above the capital beltway looks pretty good in both directions. in the southeast, most of the major roadways looking good. montgomery county, one incident could cost you some time. massachusetts avenue closed, trees down, wires down in the roadway. a detour set up. wilson bridge looking all right. >> thank you, jerry.

ahead on new 4/"today," the fda prepares to weigh in on whether there really is a pill out there to help you shed the pounds safely. >> and you may think you're going green, but we'll introduce to you one family that is taking eco-friendly to a new level.

here's a check of the top

stories we're following. dick cheney is recovering after undergoing heart surgery a week ago. cheney released a statement in which he said he had an inflatable pump put in his heart to help with his congestive heart failure. he's recuperating at a nova fairfax hospital. a construction worker is dead after a bizarre accident in rinse georges county. he was caught between two dump trucks on pennsylvania avenue near the beltway. the victim worked for a saving subcontractor. police are still looking for a metro access driver accused ofs as suggesting a special needs passenger. tanveer fayyaz attack order passenger last thursday. police say they do consider him dangerous. the new cap on the blownout well is leaking this morning. here's a live look. there is no word on how that may delay the process. drilling of one of the relief

wells has been stopped while the cap is tested. virginia has some extra cash. the commonwealth end the the fiscal year with a $220 million budget surplus, $08 million more than expected. 86 of that surplus will fund bonuseses for state workers. many of them have not received a raise in tlooe years. $18 million will go to public education. the governor says he does not plan on loosening the state's purse strings. >> a lot of this is good news, but not all a sign that we're out of the woods when it comes to this down turn in the economy. we have to be lidge plant with the way we spend. >> some of that money will also pay for transportation projects. and today virginia's governor will be talking jobs. an update on his job creation effort six months after taking office. the news conference is scheduled for 9:30 this morning in richmond. also happening today, a president shap pep talk. president obama will urge

americans to try to hang despite the tough economy. he'll face a tough audience, though, in michigan where unemployment is almost 14%. only nevada is worse. tracie pottss has more on what the president is expected to say. >> reporter: today president obama speaks at a new plant that will make batteries for electric cars. his message? >> these are batteries that are made in america, built by americans. >> reporter: up to 300 the white house says, even democrats say the recovery is too slow 37. >> it certainly is not as fast as we want. >> reporter: back home, trying to keep hope alive. >> the economic initiatives we hope, they are working. they are working. >> the proof that the stimulus has not worked, where are the jobs? >> reporter: state and local governments can cut another 400,000 jobs in the next year saying they trimmed off the fat they can. >> you can't keep cutting programs. you willitily have to lay

employees off. >> reporter: democrats say enough with all the they go different. >> at some point we have to join in and root for the home team. >> i wish the white house sometimes would root for the home team. >> reporter: congress remains deadlocked on extending unemployment benefits, but business leaders want president obama to focus on helping employers so they can create jobs. >> if we don't take on these issue, we'll have a jobless recovery. >> reporter: to create job, president obama is reaching out for help. you saw warren buffett there. president clinton was also at that white house meeting. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. more than a million homeowners are on track to lose their homes to foreclosure by the end of the year. realtytrac.com reports 528,000 homeowners lost their homes so far this year. the number of households facing foreclosure jumped 8% compared to the same period last year. about 1.7 pill i don't know households received a foreclosure related notice in the first half of the year. the 19-year-old who has been

dubbed the "barefoot bandit" is due back in court tomorrow here in the state where is a judge will decide whether he should be released on bail. colton harris moore appeared in a miami courtroom yesterday for the first time since being extradited from the bahamass. authorities say he committed at least 100 crimes in eight states after disappearing from a halfway house two years ago. his trademark was his bare feet will which will now acts like fingerprints at a crime scene. >> his calling card of going barefoot will ultimately lead to his demise and ultimately his conviction. >> his alleged crime splee ended on sunday after about a hamian police shot out the engine of a stolen boat and arrested him. ? would you post bail for him? he's got a little bit of a history on running. >> he does have a history of flight. >> and those footprints. a lot of evidence left behind. back to hot and humid.

>> yes, absolutely. we've had plenty of rain around the area for the last week. it's been a wonderful change in the weather pattern and we have appreciated every drop that's come our way, but now that little stretch of vein done and we have a couple of dry days coming up today and tomorrow and, man, is it going to be a sizzler outside. 74 in and sunny and about 94 today. good day to make the drive over the bay bridge and out on to the eastern shore. your beach forecast for friday and saturday looking very good. water temperatures still holding tough at 875 degrees which i think is about perfect. at least it's nice and cool, you can float in the ocean all day this weekend and enjoy the break from the heat because it will be plenty warm ash here. today and tomorrow will be the worst of the heat, then a chance for some scattered showers comes

back in over the weekend, but most of your weekend will be rain free. get ready to enjoy. we'll see how we're doing. the rush hour kicking off a little bit here. not bad either direction. the key bridge looking pretty good. no klays right now between roslyn and georgetown. good news in that direction. elsewhere the trip south of town to the wilson bridge from the extra have a shore line, bocht the inner loop and outer loop between alexandria looking good. travel lanes are open, so smooth sailing so far. lick ke to see that. dock coming up, could you g whole year without buying any plastic? one family is trying that. and they say that washington is the most powerful city in th

a north texas couple is in the midst of a mighty experiment. they're trying to live for one year without bringing any new plastic in to their home. mark and melanie are allowed to keep their old plastic items, but they won't buy any new ones. it's all part of an eco-friendly experiment they started four months ago. it's presenting all sorts of unexpected challenges. it means no new packaging of food, drinks or anything else.

and that requires a lot of planning. >> definitely an adventure and a lifestyle change. >> we always carry a water bottle with us that we just refill. we can carry utensils around with us. our home is basically a laboratory where we try out making homemade detergent. >> interesting. they're always coming up with creative ways to make this project work. for instance, since she couldn't buy new kitty litter, they decided to potty train their cat. how in the world you do that is beyond me, but if it's working for them, that's all right. >> use your words. baseball correllectors competing for this autographed 2010 bowman prospects card being hosted by a sports memorabilia auction house. at last check, the highest bid was $10,000 and it's expected to keep climbing. the card was originally purchased inside a box of baseball cards for $275 and the

bidding ends on the 28th of this month. a piece of lebron james memorabilia turned out to an great buy for one ohio woman. >> it's this pendant purchased at a yard sale for $5. afterwards she had it appraised and foud o found out it was worth nearly $10,000. it has about two carats of diamonds and reads king on the front and james on the back. to word on what robinson plans to do with her expensive trinket. >> and no word on why she would think to publicize that fact. >> she has to keep it in a safe place now. still ahead dick cheney in the hospital.latest on his condition. nd at search for a metro access driver accused of as suggesting a special n

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[ woman ] perfectly priced. [ female announcer ] at safeway, that's our promise. that's ingredients for life. a big good morning back at you. >> welcome to "news 4 today" for this thursday, july 15th, 2010. we're taking a live look outside. it's 5:31 and 76 degrees. hazy skies. still cloudy out there. we did see the sun yesterday and we certainly felt it. >> we certainly did. in lieu of a wet blanket. >> and tomorrow will be even

worse or better depending on how you look at it. at love humidity coming our way tomorrow. yesterday the dew point in omaha made it over 80 degrees. how crazy is that? our dew point here in washington has only been 0880 or higher twice in the last 140 years. that's crazy humid. outside on our thursday morning, temperatures in the low to mid-70s now. a little bit of patchy fog and a few of the spots right over the potomac river. it won't take long for the july sunshine to burn what little fog out of the way. tomorrow's high 95. but with a lot more humidity tomorrow. tomorrow heat indexes 100 degrees or higher for sure. as we get into the weekend, you're have a lot of rain free hours, but a chance for a scattered shower ors

thunderstorm primarily saturday afternooned or saturday night. next week, highs in the low 90s with another chance of as passing shower coming up on tuesday. jerry, good morning to you. good morning. the beltway in montgomery county in the loop as you travel off the american legion bridge, checking on the report of a car fire. we did have a vehicle stopped in the roadway. i suspect they are one in the same, but again reported the inner loop of the beltway. outer loop doing okay. elsewhere at this hour, check things out, let you know had an accident 95 northbound just before the prince william parkway, you can see tractor trailer and police officer on the shoulder, drawing a little attention, but nothing too much to worry about. off to the rails we go, first check of the morning, and so far metro rail, vre and marc all reporting no delays. in the news this morning,

police say is he dangerous and on the run. they're looking for a metro access driver accused of sexually assaulting a special needs passenger. take a look at this picture. metro transit police are being looking for tanveer fayyaz. he's facing a second degree rape charge. police say he assaulted a passenger on a trip from silver spring to gaithersburg last thursday. >> it looks like a crime of opportunity. certainly we're dealing with a perpetrator here who is considered a predator. and perhaps saw an opportunity and leveraged the circumstances to his own benefit, took advantage of an innocent person. authorities say that he's the third metro access driver this year charged with taking advantage of a disabled rider. he is not directly employed by metro access. he works for a subcontractor. regency cab incorporated. in prince georges county, a construction worker is dead after a bizarre overnight

accident. it happened around 12:30 a.m. on pennsylvania avenue. megan mcgrath joins us with more on what happened. >> reporter: overnight work zones ask be very dangerous places. you're of course working in the dark, you have a lot of heavy equipment moving around, a lot of noise, vehicles traveling in unfamiliar traffic patterns. so it can be a very, very dangerous situation. and that proved to be the case early this morning at this work zone on pennsylvania avenue. now, this is a paving project that's taking place actually on both sides of pennsylvania avenue. right around 12:30 this morning, state police say that a work he, a subcontractor for the paving company was standing on a step on the side of his dump truck. the door to the cab portion was open. they say that for whatever reason, he turned to get something ultimaout of the cab truck and as he did that, a second 2ku6r78 truck began to back up alongside him. that truck hit the open door and

the worker was crushed and killed. he's a subcontract or working with the saving company. the work has been picked up and the investigation continues. no word on whether any charges will be filed against that driver of the second truck that actually struck the victim's truck or not. all of that is still under investigation. but a sad situation here and the work zones can be very dangerous. >> megan, thank you. this morning police are looking for suspects after a young man was gunned down outside a rec center in northeast washington last night on a playground outside the watts branch recreation center. that happens to be the same recreation center where a former congressional intern was murdered less than two weeks ago. witnesses say there was a large crowd gathered when they heard at least ten shots fired.

in a panic people started running and scattering in the streets. police say that in the end one young man was found shot in the head and he died. residents of the area are tired of the violence that they say keeps happening in this same exact place. >> terrible. i met josh hopkins. my heart goes out to that child. it's sad. >> the name of the person shot last night has not yet been released, but it was joshua hopkins that was killed in that first shooting outside the rec center. the 19-year-old was home for the summer after finishing his fr h freshman year of college.

police made an arrest in his case. delonte west has a plea hearing in connection with a 2009 arrest. police say the baseball player was carrying two loaded handguns, a loaded shotgun and a knife while speeding on a motorcycle on the beltway last september. each weapons count carries a penalty of up to three years in prison. following a developing story this morning involving former vice president dick cheney. it turns on ultimate that he's now recovering from major heart surgery that he underwent a week ago. cheney said he had been experiencing increasing con gues difference heart failure and received an inflatable pump to improve heart function. the surgery took place last week. we talked to a doctor who did not treat cheney, but who is

family with the heart pump known as a left ventricular assist device. >> this device can be put in as destination therapy, which is the twice is the destination by itself. he's had a long history of heart disease. he's already suffered some five heart attacks. the most recent of which occurred earlier this year. at least 20 people are recovering this morning after an explosion at a u.s. steel plant near pittsburgh. the workers were hurt when an oven exploded. coke, a raw material used in steel making, is coal baked in an oven for a long time at a high temperature to remove impurities. according to u.s. steel, this is the largest coke manufacturing facility in the country. at least six are in critical condition. the cause is still under

investigation. 77 degrees. a controversial debate over the toyota recall. who is really to blame for the acceleration problem? the automaker or the drivers themselves? the rain is gone but the heat is back. weather and traffic on the 1s wh

the time 5:43. plenty of clear skies. a little bit of patchy fog, as well. is be ready for that. everybody use your low beams and leave a little extra distance between you and the guy in front of you. the rest of us won't have too much of a trouble to get the day started. anywhere from orange up toward washington, virginia out towards shenandoah, temperatures in the upper 60s. mid-70s right around town. the rain showers are all gone. we'll be left with tons much

sunshine can a high up near 95 degrees. 95 northbound virginia loading up very quickly now in several long stretches. the only incident of note an accident on the shoulder of 95 northbound at the prince william parkway. flashing lights are as distraction, but the lanes appear to be over. massachusetts avenue remains closed to traffic at last report near little fallses parkway. had a tree down, wires down in the roadway. beltway from i-95 up to 66 to the american legion bridge, lanes are open, but authorities are looking for a car fire inner loop around river road. we'll keep you updated. >> still to come, it may take longer than you think to get all those escalators working again at the due month circle metro station. and washington is certainly a beautiful city,

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risks, fees, expenses, and other information to read and consider carefully before investing. metros problems could leave you with a new workout routine. the escalators are broken. any progress out there, tracy? >> reporter: the workers are definitely still working here, but we're looking at pretty much the same situation. yesterday morning we had one

escalator going down, one going up. now this morning we only have one coming up. understand this, and why this is so extreme. with 120 steps here at the dupont circle metro, this is one of the steepest escalators in world and some folks may be walking them ubntil the end of the month. the problems range from handrails to broken motors. one of three is working bringing riders up. passengers going down still have to walk 120 steps. while it's easier thant walk up, it's still not ideal for some. >> we came here for a vacation and i didn't expect that. >> i have a fear of heights, so it was difficult. it's physicalsly not difficult, but makes me nervous. >> reporter: at the q street

entrance, only one of three escalators is working and bringing passengers up. these problems began monday morning and escalated monday evening when smoke was seen coming from an escalator on the front entrance before some posted the scene on twitter. now two days have passed and so far only half the dupont circle metro escalators have been returned to service. >> we are still making repairs both the q street and 19th street side. we hope to have at least the q street side available by the end of this week and 19th street by the end of maybe the last week in july. >> we've been seeing these guys out here when we pull up in the morning and they are here when we leave in the evening. some are beyond repair which is why metro has a number of the escalators undergoing serious rehabilitation. this system is up for that in a few months. but in the meantime, they say that they're used to having

about 60 of their 600 he is came loit a he is are a la came late tors out of service. something they're trying to fix. the government has not figured out why toyota vehicles are suddenly accelerate, but they're taking a look at the drivers. according to the "wall street journal," the government has annize lized dozens of so-called black boxes involved in crashes. they found that the throttles were open and the brakes not engaged. it could mean that the drivers were stepping on the gas pedals instead of the brake pedals. general motors is trying to create some buzz. gm is adding a warrant itity that guarantees the battery in the chevrolet volt. it lasts for eight years. that's a step up from the five year warranties on gm other

vehicles. the first wave hits the showrooms in november. turns out it d.c. is the best educated city in the nation. >> not surprised. that's the word from a new report by the brookings institution. nearly 47% of people have college degrees, compared to 2% of rest of the country. congratulations to us. >> they weren't testing local news people. >> oh, i beg your pardon, this man has many degrees. >> a degree and good grades are two gift things. what do they call the last guy who graduates from medical school? doctor. >> doesn't matter. >> that's exactly right. finishing, that's what's important. what's the difference between an a and a c mine fuss once you're out of school? outside it is a fairly pleasant

thursday morning. it's mild outside. dew point temperatures are back into the high 60s again. relative humidity. 74% right now. wind out of the north at three miles per hour. temperatures in the upper 60s to near 70. the last of the rain showers are now gone. the heat and the real humidity, high 70s to near 80 degrees. that little push of warm and very oppressive air is coming our way for tomorrow, so be ready. today will be hot and sticky, tomorrow hot and miserable. heat index values over 100 tomorrow. perfect time to get on down to the beach and lay in the ocean. ocean water temperature only 75. mid-90s today, upper 90s

tomorrow, low 90s over the weekend with passing showers ng on the inner loop of the beltway up toward river road, right side of the roadway blocked and delays beginning to reach back of a territory american legion bridge. so not terrible. authorities are headed for an accident reported to be in the southbound lanes of 270 between high ats town and clarksburg. authority rgs headed ovies headk on that. marc rail brunswick 872, six minutes behind schedule. now to a developing story. former vice president dick cheney continues to recover in a northern virginia hospital after undergoing heart surgery. last week doctors inplanted a small pump inside his chest. news 4's elaine reyes joins us

with detail ps p. >> reporter: cheney and list doctors managed to keep news of the surgery under the radar for several days. he's expected to remain in the hospital for a few more weeks. the former vice president has suffered from heart disease for many years. his first heart attack came when he was just 37 years old. four more followed. this is an example of the pump that doctors implanted. it's called a left ventricular assist twice. the hope is that it will improve the way his heart functions. this doctor doesn't treat mr. cheney, but is very familiar with the device. he says by the time the pump is needed, a patient's condition has deteriorated significantly. >> it's not able to pump the blood to the rest of the body.

so now instead of the blood being pumpd to the rest of the body, the blood backs up to the lungs that causes congestion. people get short of breath and the pump is trying to replace the left ventricle. >> reporter: the former vice president released a statement saying he decided to take advantage of the new technologies available to him and he thanks those who have kept him in their thoughts and prayers. elaine, thank you. >> the fda is looking at three new pills that could change the lives of many overweight americans on today's agenda, a once popular drug that could be making a comeback oig. erica edwards reports. >> reporter: there is no manchic pill. but when you hit that weight loss plateau, drug companies are

lined up to step in. the food and drug administration is scheduled to review three new obesity drug by the end of this year. >> i believe we're on the verge of a new era in weight management. >> reporter: first on the list, a discussion at the fda on thursday is a pill called qnexa. it's a combination of two appetite suppressants including one called phentermine. it's considered safe but was part of the notorious phen-fen taken off the market years ago after it was linked to heart valve problems. >> it is critically important to everybody to make sure that these medicines are safe. >> reporter: another experimental drug has very few side effects in clinical trials where patients lost an average of 17 pounds over a year. so patients were slimmer and researchers say healthier. >> things like blood pressure, blood sugar, inflammation, all of these markers improve in the studies.

>> reporter: and in december, fda advisers are scheduled to review another weight loss drug. while they might all work, none of the new ones will be effective without the old advice, eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise. erica edwards, nbc news. several health experts say avandia should stay on the market, but the diabetes pill should be subject to new restrictions.pill has been controversial since a 2007 study linked to increased risk for heart attacks and death. yesterday a panel of advisers voted to keep the drug available, but about a third of the panelists also wanted to limit who can receive and prescribe the medication. workers found a buried ship from the 18th century. >> also ahead, what federal government reportedly gave an iranian scientist in exchange for classified information. >> and it take a live look outside right now. we have hazy, humid skies.

73 right now. we'll get the weather and traffic coming up.

a construction worker was killed early this morning when he is crushed between two dump trucks. from this morning bp is wor to repair a new problem at the bottom of the gulf. thanks for joining us. >> it's the 15th day of july, 2010. a live lock ove look outside an that pea soup, i guess could you call it. going to be humid and hot. >> once the sun came back out yesterday, it really heated things up. >> the heat, the humidity, the sun, what am i here for?

very thick air indeed. 75 downtown. 75 degrees in annapolis, maryland. 71 in sterling, virginia. 72 in winchester. satellite review shows that little area of low pressure which brought us appreciated rain showers yesterday now pulling on out sunshine returns today in full force. plenty of sunshine and touch of humidity in the air. uv index very high. don't go outside for a long time without your sun block on. spf 30 or higher. temperature its into the mid-90s tomorrow. only scattered chantszs for rain as we head into the weekend.

p h.270 southbound, extent, please on the scene. keep an eye out for that. else where the earlier incident we showed you on the inner hoop of the beltway between the american river bridge and river road cleared. those delays cleared out very rapidly. out to the rails we go. metro rail doing fine. vre still have that minor delay on fredericksburg line train 300. marc rail brunswick 300, seven minutes behind schedule. a tragedy in prince georges county overnight. a construction worker was killed in a bizarre accident. it happened around 12:30 a.m. on pennsylvania avenue near the beltway. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us with more on what happened. >> reporter: >> reporter: a reminder of how dangerous the work zones can be. they're repaving pennsylvania avenue. both sides of the roadway here near the beltway and that work

was ongoing around 12:30 this morning. the victim who is a subcontractor for the paving company, he was standing on a step along the side of his dump truck. the door was open. for whatever reason, he reached into the truck itself into the cab area of the truck. as he did, a second dump truck blacked up alongside that truck. the second truck hit the open door. that door closed and crushed this worker. he was pronounced dead as a result of the injuries. the investigation is ongoing. no charges have been filed in this case. they'll have to look at the circumstances here and decide later whether or not they will file any charges or not. police have not released the name of the worker who was killed. all that we know is that he was a subcontractor working for this saving company. you can see behind me the traffic is flowing as normal. they have picked up the work

zone, but just an awful situation earlier this morning. >> megan, thank you. new today, a police investigating an early morning shooting at an apartment complex in the 3900 block of southern avenue. when police arrived, they found a man who had been shot. he was taken to the hospital. his condition at this hour is not known. information about the suspects are still unclear, as well. neighbors in northeast washington are on edge this morning after another deadly shooting outside the same city rec center. this latest shooting happened around 9:30 last flight on a playground outside the same rec center where a former congressional intern was murdered thes th murdered less than two weeks ago. there was a large crowd gathered when they heard at least ten shots fired. police say that in the end would be young man was shot in the

head and died. joshua hopkins was gunned down at that same playground back on july 3rd. the teenager was home for the summer after finishing his freshman year of college. he was spending his time as a congressional intern. police made an arrest in hopkins ooet death earlier this week. police believe a metro access driver may be on the run accused of sexually assaulting a special needs passenger. tanveer fayyaz is facing a second degree rape charge. police say he assaulted a passenger last thursday. he's the third to be charged with taking advantage of a disaked rider. he works for a subcontractor of metro, regency cab incorporated. and you may want to wear your workout shoes the next time you hop on the metro in dupont circle. broken escalators will still not work again until the end of the

month. a smoke alarm caused the escalators to go out of service on monday and that that force the walkers to walk up and down the 120 steps.19th and q street exits both have one escalator working in the up direction. three words. hang in there. that's the message president obama will bring to americans today. he will face a tough audience in michigan where unemployment is nearly%. tra tracie potts has more. >> reporter: today president obama speaks at a new plant that will make batteries for electric cars. his message? >> these are batteries that are made in america, built by americans. >> reporter: even democrats say the recovery is too slow. >> it certainly is not as fast as we want. >> the economic initiatives we took, they are working.

they are working. >> the proof that the stimulus has not worked, where are the jobs? >> reporter: state and local government could cut another 400,000 jobs in the next year saying they trimmed all the fat they can. >> you can't keep cutting programs you actually have to lay employees off. >> reporter: democrats say enough with all the negativity. >> at some point, we have to join in and root for the home team. >> i wish the white house sometimes would root for the home time. >> reporter: congress remains deadlocked, but business leaders want president obama to focus on helping employer so is they can create jobs. >> we'll have a jobless recovery. >> reporter: to create jobs, president obama is reaching out for help. you saw warren buffett there. president clinton was also at that white house meeting. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. new information about the

iranian scientist found in d.c. a new report says the go. paid him $5 million for information. also ahead, the prostitution ring busted in a suburban maryland neighborhood. and take a live look outside. hazy skies. going to be hot and humid today.

73 degrees. look at that hot sun gleaming off the potomac deliver and bri. >> chuck's here to tell us how hot it's going to be. >> if you're going to be outside today, spf 30 or better because that july sunshine, that will burn you fast out can get a bur 20 minutes tile. 75 in annapolis and bethesda, maryland. 71 in falls church. there's a view from our front porch to the east. good looking view.

mid-90s today and tomorrow. outside passes of a few passing shower, but most of the weekend will be just fine. had an accident between 109 and 121. pretty hefty backup beginning south of 80. let's head over and update you, last check massachusetts avenue still blocked off, had trees and wires down in the overnight hours. pepco on the scene, so hopefully things will get taken care of sooner rather than later. the surprise find at ground zero. a buried ship from the $1700. also ahead, the new leak at the bottom of the gulf of mexico and how it's slowing down repairs to that broken oil well. and it was the best kept secret in

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you'll get the job done right, or we'll step in and help to make it right. so, protect yourself with the superguarantee® from supermedia. on its way-- the new verizon® yellow pages with larger, easier to read print. the new cap is leaking on the blownout well. bp says it's been isolated and repairs are under way. late last night, government scientists gave bp the green light to begin testing the integrity of the new containment cap, but those tests were put on hold. kristen dahlgren reports from venice, louisiana. >> reporter: after the government gave bp the green light to begin pressure testing on the leaking well, another delay. upon closing the top stack on the new cap, a leak was detected in one of the other choke lines and has to be repaired before

starting the critical test. is through the early morning oil still flowed as remote subs worked around the site. readying for the test they hope will tell them the condition of the leaking well. >> when we close the well, we want it to make sure everything stays inside the wellbore and doesn't get outside the wellbore that somehow we don't end up with flow going around the pipeline. that's what this test is designed to determine because we don't want that to occur. >> reporter: it involves closing off all of the vents through the new cap to test pressure readings. but it's had some concern that if done too quickly could make things worse. >> an enormous amount of pressure coming to a halt immediately, very much like a train running in to a brick wall. and that would send a shockwave down the wellbore which could cause problems anywhere from the surface of the wellbore to deep in the well. >> reporter: that was the reason for the one day delay. and officials insist they are now moving forward very

carefully. >> in the interests of the american people, safety of the environment and safety of the environment going forward, we need to make sure it's right. >> reporter: and that's all anybody here wants as they begin watch to see the know stop and the tests start. so the plan for the test is to monitor those pressures and stop every six hours. officials say if they see any indication of danger or that oil is leaking out from anywhere, they will stop those tests pretty quickly. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, venice, louisiana. biologists say oil has drenched at least 300 to 400 pelicans nesting in the area of a the off the louisiana coast. the 19-year-old dubbed the "barefoot bandit" is due back in court tomorrow where a judge will decide whether he should be

relesioned on mail. authorities say he committed at least 100 crimes in eight states after disappearing from a halfway house two years ago. his trademark was his bare feet which could link him now to crimes. his alleged crime spree ended on sunday after aboutbahamian poli shot out the engine on a stolen boat and arrested him. this morning we've learned the cia paid him more than $5 million. he claims the united states agents kidnapped him last year and took him to america. about he also says he was drug pd and tortured. american officials deny those allegations, however, they do admit that he was paid to provide intelligence on iran's nuclear program. and he does not have to return that money, but now since he's there and the money is here, it

might be tough to access the accounts because of financial sanctions against iran. workers found a ship dating back to the 1700s. the ship is 32 feet long. archaeologists say it might be part of the debris used to extend manhattan's shore line in the 1700 and $1800. specialists will visit the site today. dick cheney continues to recover from heart surgery this morning. last week doctors implanted a small pump in his chest in an effort to support his failing heart. elaine reyes joins us live from the newsroom with details. >> reporter: cheney is expected to remain at the hospital for a few more week. they and his doctors managed to keep news of his hospital stay under the radar. this an example of the pump that

doctors implanted in his chest. it's called a left ventricle assist twicdevice. the hope is that it will improve the way his heart functions and remedy his congestive heart failure. this doctor does not treat mr. cheney, but is very familiar with the device. he says by the time the pump is needed, a patient's condition has deteriorated significantly. >> some are note eligible for transplantati transplantation, in which this can be put in as destination therapy and the person h go home and stay on the device. >> the former vice president has a well documented history of heart disease. his first heart attack came when he was just 37 years old. four more followed with the most recent attack last year.

it despite safety concerns the diabetes drug avandia will stay on the market. a panel of experts made the recommendation yesterday. it used to be one of the most popular diabetes drug on the lar ketd, but a 2007 study linking the drug to increased risk for heart attacks and death caused cells to plummet. the fda will issue its final ruling in the coming months. the british open championship is underway. saint andrews in scotland. and this could be a bit of a surprise this morning. the leader is john daly. he won it 1 some 15 years ago and tiger woods is till the odds-on favorite to whip the tournament. he won in 2000 and 2005. and right now he is two under par through eight holes.

steve marino finished the first round at three under. so good luck. i wonder if they're having good weather. >> those high latitudes and so far up in the north atlantic and north sea, that weather up there in scotland is schizophrenic on a good day. around here, what would we give for another taste of scotland around here? temperature in the low 70s across the area for now. it will be a hot one. sunshine today, high up near 95 degrees. the real humidity comes back for tomorrow. jerry, over to you for a check on traffic. 2730 southbound, had the accident between 109 and 121. now word of a broken down truck in the backup just south of route 109. it's jammed 270 coming south.

out to the west, no worries. out to the rails, metro rail doing fine. fredericksburg 300 on vre, still running behind schedule. three delays on marc rail, two on brunswick. the prostitution ring busted in a suburban maryland neighborhood. the costly mistake for two crooks in northern virginia. how police easily figured out they were printing counterfeit money. and apple will make a big announcement t

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wouldn't expect to find something like that, but it's everywhere. >> neighbors cannot believe a secluded house on old house was operating as a brothel. five were arrested in connection with as prostitution ring. police raid hd this home on friday. they arrested the homeowner and her tenant. police say the two had at least three adults and a 17-year-old girl working there. the two posted bail. two northern with a va have a men are behind bars for carrying counterfeit cash that was partially printed in spanish. print william police discovered

several of the bills last month when they pulled him over on suspicion of drunk driving. that led them to a 39-year-old. police say the men had about 60 of the fake $100 bills and ironically a spanish phrase was printed on the bills that translates to lucky money. according to secret service agents, they're connected to more than 100 counterfeit cases. 75 degrees. why an nba player is expected to enter a guilty flee prince georges county today. >> and a deadly accident overnight in maryland. how a construction worker was killed. and metro says it will be a while before all of the escalators are ( chirping, music )

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a construction worker is killed early this morning when he is crushed between two dump trucks. good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." >> it is thursday, july 15th, 2010. we're taking a live look outside right now. it is 75 degrees. beautiful out there. but another hot and steamy day is in the forecast. >> those are usually your options in july. raining or blazing. and today we'll be back in the blazing hot category take. it isn't going to be 100

degrees, but well into the ninth in nearly every neighborhood. we've cooled off just a little bit now in fairfax county down to 71 degrees this. 69 in coolsville, maryland. 72 in this front royal, virginia. 66 in culpepper. dew point temperatures still in the high 60s to mid-70s. heat index values today probably not worse than the actual air temperature, but tomorrow, 95, 96 for a high with heat in-des values tomorrow well over 100 degrees. weekend, temperatures back into the low 90s. chances for some passing showersoff the weshower s over the weekend, but in all likelihood, it will be dry. certainly going to be a factor eastbound along interstate 66 as you head from centerville to fair oaks. but the good news is there are no accidents to worry about west bound.

no concerns in to or out of the 3rd street tunnel between the southeast/southwest freeway and new york avenue. out on the rails, metro still delay free. vre still has a delight display on fredericksburg 300. marc rail, brunswick 872 and 874 slightly delayed kass is camden line train 841. we see them every night, but perhaps rarely think how dangerous they are. highway work zones. this morning horrible and deadly proof. at about 12:30 a.m. a worker was killed on pennsylvania avenue nir the beltway. megan mcgrath joins us with more on what happened out there. overnight work zones as you mentioned can be very dangerous. you of course have workers out there in the dark. a lot of heavy vehicles moving around, vehicles moving through unfamiliar traffic patterns. and it really can be a dangerous situation. and it was a deadly situation here last night.

there's a paving project that's going on on both sides of pennsylvania avenue here right near the beltway. they were actually paving around 12:30 last night when the deadly accident happened. now, mattryland state police sa that the victim was actually standing on the side step of his dump truck. the door was open. he leaned into the cab to get something and as he did that, they say a second dump truck began to back up alongside him. that second truck hit h the door causing to slam shut and the worker was crushed. no word on whether charges will be filed or not and no word on the identity of the worker who was killed. all we know is that he was a subcontractor working for the paving companies as a part of about project. traffic is running smoothly here on pennsylvania avenue. the work has stopped. but a deadly situation here

earlier this morning. new today, police are investigating an early morning shooting at an apartment complex in the 3900 block of southern avenue. when police arrived at the building, they found the man who had been shot. he was taken to the hospital and his condition is not known. information about suspectses is still unclear. nba player delonte west will appear in court in connection with a 2009 arrest. west was carrying two load handguns, a loaded shotgun and a nice all while he was speeding on a motorcycle on the beltway last september. each weapons count carries a penal difference ty of up to th

prison. this morning police are searching for suspects after a young man us a gunned down outside a rec center last night at the at the rec center where a former congressional intern was murdered less than two weeks ago. witnesses say there was a large crowd gathered outside last night when they heard at least ten shots fired. in a panic people started running and scattering in the streets. police say that in the end one young man was found shot in the head and died. his names has not been released. joshua hopkins was gunned down at that same playground back on july 3rd. the teenager was home for the summer after finishing his freshman year of college. police made an arrest in his death earlier this week. police say is he dangerous and is on the reason. they're looking for a metro access driver accused of sexually assaulting a special needs passenger. tanveer fayyaz is facing a second degree rape charge.

police say he assaulted a passenger on a trip last thursday. >> it looks like a crime of opportunity. certainly we're dealing with a perpetrator here who is considered a predator and perhaps saw an opportunity and leveraged the circumstances to his own benefit and took advantage of an innocent person. >> he's the third metro access driver h it year charged with taking advantage of a disabled rider. he works for a subcontractor, regency cab incorporated. 6:36 is your time. the "today" show is coming up next. let's check in with meredith vieira to see what they're working on for today this morning. >> good morning. coming up on this thursday morning on "today," engineers are working to repair a new leak near the cap on the oil pipe in

the gulf. as they look into whether bp was involved in securing the release of the pan am bomber. also ahead, the dangers in water bombs. one honor student shares his cautionary tale. and just how authentic whether even we get started on a thursday morning right here a o. "today." thanks, meredith. 75 degrees help how long you can expect the escalator problems to last at the due month metro station. >> you can almost hear the wedding bells this morning. we're learning more about d.c.'s school chancellor upcoming wedding. steamy out there this morning. going to get hot and steamy later on. weather and traffic together on the 1s next.

76 degrees. a gorgeous picture outside the nation's capital. the sun is starting to heat things up and the weather will be another hot and humid day. an above average month in

rainfall. our first above average month precipitation in months. now everybody gets to spend the weekend mowing their lawns. that's always good news. outside, temperatures in the low to mid-70s in a lot of spots. there are cooler locates, though, like springfield, virginia. upper 60s this morning. a few mid-60s out on the virginia piedmont out towards cull menner. jefferson memorial, the washington monument just off to your left hand side there. the atmosphere is a little on the thick and hazy side today. going to be a steamy one. extra heat and extra humidity comes our way for a friday. just in time to lead uses in to a weekend with a few scattered shower chances. along what has been a pretty tough commute for folks coming out of frederick this morning. this is the 270 southbound

corridor headed down to 109 and 121. really jammed up. series of incidents and a broken down vehicle have all been cleared, but traffic rolling slowly. but the lanes reopened. in greenbelt between central avenue on up toward i-95 doing all right. no incidents there. and the travel lanes are open. capital beltway right at tyson's corner. both inner loop and outer loop lanes are open with no significant delays. 6:42 is your time. 76 degrees. metro says it will be some time before all of the escalators are fixed. and why dick chain any wien in a hospital for the next few weeks. >> and apple will make a big look inside a more than

17 billion dollar investment, and what do you see? at at&t, we see the dreams and ambitions of everyday americans coming true. we see an economic recovery taking root as businesses grow and prosper and add jobs, thanks to the amazing power of an open internet that works. america needs an internet that is always getting faster, safer, and more secure. at at&t, our investment last year of more than 17 billion dollars in the wireless and wired networks of tomorrow is what's fueling innovation today and creating jobs and opportunities now. we invest because we know the internet works. it's working for our children, our families, our economy and our future. and if there were ever a time to stick with what works, now is it.

the future has always been our business. and the future begins now.

metro's problems could leave you with a new workout routine. the escalators are broken on both ends of the metro stop in due month spont circle. tracy wilkins has the update. >> reporter: you can take a look at the work they're doing trying to get the escalators repaired. some riders have been avoiding this metro station all together because with 120 steps, the escalator here is among the steepest in the world. and folks will be walking them until the end of the month. the problems range from handrails that don't work to

broken motors. the rut is this. one of three escalators is working bringing riders up. passengers going down still has to work 120 steps. while easier, it's still not ideal for some. >> not what i came to washington for a vacation for. we just got here and i didn't expect that. >> i have a fear of heights, so it was difficult. physically not difficult, but makes me nervous. >> reporter: only one of there's he is came complete tors is working and bringing passengers up. these problems began monday morning and escalated monday morning when smoke was seen coming from an escalator on the south entrance. a seen was so chaotic that some posted it on twitter. now two days have passed and so far only half the dupont circle metro escalators have been returned to service. >> we are still making repairs to the escalator units.

we hope to have the q street side by the end of this week. >> reporter: we can say this about the crews being out here. when we arrive here early in the morning, they're here. when we leave, they're still here. metro spokesmen say that they have anywhere from 50 to 60 escalators out throughout their system at a time. they would like for the numbers to be better than that considering that they have 600 escalators. but they're saying this is just what it is. some of the escalators are able to be repaired and this escalator will also go underneath that rehab in a few months. tracy wilkins, live this morning in dupont circle. thanks very much. now to the latest on the gulf oil disaster. the new cap put on this week is

leaking on the blownout well. bp says repairs are underway. there are no words on how that may delay the process of closing valves on the cap. government officials were reluctant to give bp permission to close them for fear pressure could build up and make the leak even worse. dick cheney is in the hospital recovering from major heart surgery this morning. in a statement, cheney said he had been experiencing increasing congestive heart failure. after consultation with his doctors, he received an inflatable pump to improve heart function. the surgery took place last week and he's still recovering. we talked to a doctor who did not treat cheney, but who was familiar with the heart pump known as a left ventricular assist device. >> the left ventricle increases in size and becomes very weak. and as a result, it's not able to pump the blood to the rest of the body. so now instead of the blood being pumpedoff the rest of the body, the blood backs up to the

runni running -- lungs and it causes congestion. this is essentially trying to replace the left ventricle. >> cheney has a long history of heart disease. he's already suffered five heart attacks, the most recent of which occurred earlier this year. happening today, a presidential pep talk trying to booth spirits with the economy. he'll speak at a new plant that will create batteries for electric cars. last august, the president announced a $2.4 billion investment in that industry. the white house says the plan is creating new jobs in america, but the president is facing a tough audience. a recent nbc "wall street journal" pole foul found more t 80% of americans are dissached wi with the economy. today the president could be one step closer to overhauling financial regulation. there will be a key vote that will set the stage for final

passage. only three republicans say this they will vote for it. they say the government is overstepping it bounds. there seems to be no let up in the foreclosure crisis across the country. courtney reagan joins us with more on this story. >> reporter: i wish this trend was going the other way, but it looks like more than 1 million homeowners could lose their house to foreclosure this year. realty trac says nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by banks at the end of june. on average it takes about 15 months for mortgages to go from being 0 days late to the house being ultimately sold. if the economy doesn't worsen, it could take lenders until 2013 to get through the foreclosures they have on their books now. gm is offering an eight year warranty on the battery and it new electric cars chevy volt which goes on say later this week.warranty coverses all parts and will be transferrable at no cost to any new other than.

afternoon he will h apple has scheduled a news conference for friday afternoon to address the problems with the iphone 4. many are very anxious to hear what the company has to say. back to you. >> i'm sure people have a lot of questions for apple. thank you, courtney. come labor day, will those be school bells or wedding bells we'll be hear something probably both. yes, it looks like the wedding bells will be ringing soon for michelle michelle reed. johnson let it slip that reed's wedding dress will come from designer monique louie.

>> she makes george why you dresses. and wedding gowns. i'm sure she will look stunning. what a wonderful couple, a very powerful couple, too. congratulations to them. >> if she were wearing a bell, it would just be burlap with a hole on top of it, so luckily she chose a different designer. outside a fairly cloudy and fairly humid start. by clouds i mean low clouds in the form of fog around first thing. that won't last long, though. this july sunshine out there, it will burn what little bit of fog we have left away very quickly. can see the silhouette of the washington monument in the haze. the humidity 79%. a light authority breeze at 5 miles an hour h. a few mid and upper 60s on the map. the rain showers from yesterday

are now long it gone. that area of lch working its way away from the jersey shore and as a result we'll be in the sunshine for today and for tomorrow. look at these current temperatures. in st. louis right now, it's 83 degrees at 55 chl 5:50 in the m. their heat index before 6:00 a.m. in the morning in st. louis, it already feels like 92. yucky stuff out across the mid part of the country. unfortunately for us, a little bubble of it that heat and humidity is coming our way for later on today and especially as we get into tomorrow. so be ready for a lot of heat and humidity around. sunshine today, highs in the low to mid-90s. tomorrow up into the mid and upper 80s. grate weather at the beaches on your friday and saturday. only a slight chance of a scattered shower. our four day forecast low to mid-90s today being top. saturday and sunday, just passing chances for a scattered shower or storm.

have pictures now a tree down in the roadway closing off a good stretch of mass avenue. you can see the trunk of the tree hanging right on the power line. pepco is out there working on it. traffic may be able to get back under police direction, but you might want to avoid it for the timeinner loop. beltway, the sore spot from yesterday. not the case today. lanes are open. still moving slowly, but much better than 24 hour hs ago. where he is, we'll update you and let you know out on the rails, metro rail, still doing fine. vre still have that one delay. marc brunswick 874, 892 delayed. overnight tragedy on the road. a construction worker was killed in a bizarre accident while on the job. it happened around 12:30 this morning on pennsylvania avenue

near the beltway. megan mcgrath joins us live with what happened. >> reporter: early this morning respect there was an overnight work zone set up here along pennsylvania avenue. they're repaving the roadway in both directions.victim was standing on the side step of his dump truck with the door open. for whatever reason, they say he leaned into the cab of the truck and while he did that, a second dump truck backed up alongside his truck, hit that open door forcing it to slam shut. he was crushed and died as a result of those injuries. no word on the identity of the worker who was killed or his age. all that we know is that he was a subcontractor. he worked for the subcontractor, the saving contractor involved in this overnight project. it is unclear whether any charges will be filed. as you can see behind me here,

pennsylvania avenue is now running smoothly. the work zone has been picked up. but, again, a deadly accident overnight. here's the more than's top stories. police are investigating an early morning shooting. this happened just after midnight the an apartment complex on southern avenue. when police arrived, they found a man who had been shot. his condition is not known at this time. police are looking for suspects after a young man was gunned down outside a rec center last night on a playground. police are still looking for a metro access driver accused of sexually assaulting a special needs passenger. authorities say that tanveer fayyaz attacked a passenger last thursday. and the cia says it paid $5 million to an iranian scientist who now says he was kidnapped. he's back in iran and claims

u.s. agents drugged and tortured him. u.s. officials say he was paid to provide information about iran's nuclear program. and that is "news 4 today." thank you for starting i don't you are thursday with us. >> the "today" show is next. join us tomorrow morning right here at 4:30. have a great day.